A TERRIER which went on the loose and carried out a “vicious” attack on a smaller dog and its owner in Flintshire has escaped being put down.

Victoria Bushell was convinced the terrier, called Bingo, was intent on “killing” her Jack Russell dog after he bit its neck and tried to maul it.

Ms Bushell was out walking her Jack Russell dog with her children when two lurcher dogs and a black and grey Lakeland terrier cross darted out of a property in Mold Road in Ewloe Green barking loudly.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told North East Wales Magistrates Court how the terrier, who had a history of behavioural problems, caused mayhem.

But its owner, retired teacher Linda Joy, stood by and made no attempt to retrieve it or her other pets.

“The terrier went straight for the Jack Russell and bit him viciously to the neck and tried to flip him onto his back,” said Ms Jackson.

“She (Ms Bushell) believed it was trying to kill her dog and she feared for its safety and that of her children.”

The owner tried desperately to pick up her pet, but the terrier refused to let go and bit her (the owner) on the arms several times.

Even when Ms Bushell’s partner tried to kick the attacking dog away, it still sunk its teeth into his wife.

The dog owner suffered cuts to her arms and forearms and needed treatment at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, but she was left with a scar on her left arm.

Her Jack Russell needed veterinary treatment costing £137.52.

“This was not just a dog running out of control, this was a vicious attack and the owner did nothing,” said Ms Jackson.

Joy, 69, of Mold Road, Ewloe Green, admitted being the owner of a dog that was dangerously out of control and which caused injury on July 29.

Bethan Jones, defending, said Joy had always taken care of her dogs, who were kept inside her property ordinarily by an airlocked system of three doors.

But on the day of the attack she had been visited by her daughter and granddaughter who was in a pram that had proved difficult to push through the doors.

“Someone opened the gates and the dogs made a break for freedom,” said Ms Jones.

“The dog is a terrier and he has seen another terrier. Normally he is never out on his own. He is always on a lead.”

The Mold court was told Bingo had proved to be a “a difficult dog” and that as Joy had been diagnosed with cancer she was considering whether to have the pet rehomed.

District judge Gwyn Jones fined Joy £500 and ordered her to pay the vet’s bill as well as a sum to compensate Ms Bushell’s loss of earnings, totalling together £324.52.

She was also told to pay Ms Bushell £400 in compensation for her pain and trauma, as well as £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £50.

The district judge made a contingent destruction order on the terrier, ordered that he be muzzled when in public and warned Joy that any further misbehaviour would lead to him being put down.